Connector for electric railways



(No Model.)

LDAFT. CONNECTOR EUR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS. No. 403,092. Patented May 14,1889.

C W i i d l O O j, G O

O O (D 0 N. PETMS, PhumLilhugnphL-n washiugmn. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

LEO DAFT, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,092, dated May 14,1889.

Application iled June 18, 1888. Serial No. 277,433. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LEO DAFT, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain,residing at Plainfield, U'nion county, State of New Jersey, UnitedStates of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inConnectors for Electric Railways, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact specification.

In the extensive and increasing use of electric railways of that classwherein the current is generated at a central station and is conveyedalong the track by conductors arranged either above the ground or belowthe surface thereof in conduits, it often becomes necessary for one lineof railroad to cross another at an angle to the direction of its length,and in 'doing this considerable diiiiculty has been experienced in soarranging the conductors of the two lines as to provide for the readypassage of `the trolleys, brushes, or other collectors, so that therewill be no intei-ference with the conductors of the different lines, andat the same time to preserve a practically continuous collector-support;and it is the object of my present invention to provide means wherebythese results may be accomplished; and to these ends myinventionconsists in a structure adapted to support the conductors of two or morelines crossing each other at an angle in such a manner that thecollectors of the different lines may operate without interference witheach other, and without danger of stopping or delays to the cars.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown oneembodiment of my invention, Figure 1 is a side view, and Fig. 2 is aplan view, of a device arranged to carry out the principle above stated;and Fig. 3 is a detail of one form of a conductor which I have foundconvenient to use in this connection.

It is evident that the principles of construction are substantially thesame whether the device is applied to an overground-conductor system oran underground system, and I have. chosen to illustrate it as applied toan over-` ground system, and my device may be described as consisting ofbridge-connectors or U -shaped frames A A', having legs B B,which may bemade of any suitable material, but preferably of angle-iron, asindicated in the drawings, and which connector is of sufficient widthand depth to permit the free passage of the trolley, collector-car,brush, or other means of collecting the current traveling upon theconductors.

One system of conductors, as C D, may be mounted upon arms E F, whichare supported upon the legs B B of the connectors, and project inward,leaving a passage between their ends for the collector, and these armsare preferably insulated from the connector. The other system ofconductors, G H, which is arranged to cross the rst set at an angle, isshown as supported in a plane below the first set and held in the gripends of the legs B B of the connector, and while of course anyparticulararrangement of conductor and grip may be used, I prefer to usethat shown in Fig. 8, in which the conductor G is securely held orgripped between the jaws I I', in a manner well understood. If theseconductors G H extended directly across the connector, they would ofcourse interfere with the passage of the trolley or collector upon theother set of conductors, and in order to provide against this objectionand at the same time afford a substantial continuation of the conductorsG H, so that the trolley or collectorcarrier may freely pass thereon, Iconnect to the grip ends of the connector supporting the ends of theconductors G H the pivoted arms K K and L L, mounted upon suitablepivots la Z, and these arms are held so as to practically complete theline of the conductors by the springs M, arranged to bear equally uponopposite sides of the arms and support them in such a manner that whenthey are pressed apart by the trolley or brush-carrier they will move toone side to permit the passage thereof and immediately return to theirnormal position under the stress of the springs.

Of course it is necessary to complete the electrical connection betweenthe grip-jaws, and this may be done in various ways-as,

for instance, the connectors A A may also form the electrical connectionbetween the terminals of the conductors.

It will thus be seen that I provide a simple and effective device,whichmay be used either IOO above or below the surface of the ground, andwhich will serve to protect the Conductors and insure the proper passageof the collectors at the crossings; and while I have illustrated aspeeiiie embodiment of my invention, it is evident that the details ofconstruction and arrangement may be varied without departing from thespirit thereof.

`That I Claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with two sets of eon duetors arranged to cross eaehother at an angle, of a Connector consisting, essentially, of aframe,supporting-arms eonneeted to the frame for one set of conductors,and jaws oonneeted to the frame for another set oi conduetors, andhinged arms connected to the jaws permitting the passage of theCollector, substantially as described.

2. In a crosseonneetor for elect-rie circuits, the combination, with thejaws connected to the terminals of the eirenit, of hinged arms connectedto the jaws, and springs arranged to maintain the arms Vin alignmentwith the jaws, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have si gn ed my nam e to this speeilieaton linthe presence ot' two subscribing witnesses.

LEO DAFT.

IVitnesses:

MILTON W. SMITH, FRED II. REED.

